First Look: Acorn, The New Graphics Tool For Macs.

Mac users tend to look for tools that do the job. Take Photoshop. Please. If you can afford it these days.

The premiere graphics tool for the Mac (and Windows) is a bloated behemoth. Moving back to basics is Acorn from Flying Meat. It’s the underkill of graphic tools.

There is no shortage of graphic tools for Mac users, though it could be argued that there’s a shortage of affordable tools and utilities. There may even be a shortage of tools easy enough to figure out how to use.

I’m a long time Fireworks user. For web work, it’s a great application for quick graphics to blend into a web site. I’m a long, long time Photoshop user, but in recent years began skipping versions. Why? Too expensive and I don’t use all the tools in Photoshop CS whatever.

There are times when I just need to create quick graphic elements for this or that. Photoshop? Fireworks? Wonderfully designed tools but look at how complex they’ve become. Photoshop costs $999 from Adobe. Are there other choices for graphic development and text manipulation? Yes. A thousand times yes.

The folks at Flying Meat Software, makers of other nifty Mac tools such as FlySketch, FlyGesture, and VoodooPad, decided that the world needed yet another image and graphics editor. One that people could actually use without attending night school for a semester, or selling their first born child to buy.

Enter Acorn. This is the image and graphics editor we’d like to have when we don’t have much money and don’t have the two or three years to master Photoshop. Even GraphicConverter is a challenge to learn to use. Acorn is not. It’s just not.

I’m not talking just drawing circles and rectangles and entering some text. Change the strokes on your pencils. Sharpen, blend, tile, stylize. Ad halftones, adjust color, add distortions, add layers, build gradients. See? Lots of tools, but not just a list. Simplicity.

Acorn opens with a familiar palette of tools that are context sensitive. Move, Select, Draw, Erase, Fill, Gradient, Text, Shape and Color.

The tools available for each menu selection are to the right, still on the palette. Below that are the layers, so you’ll see similarities with Fireworks and Photoshop.

At first glance, Acorn seems remarkably simple but not sophisticated. SImple and elegant, yes? Loaded with tools to compete against expensive image and graphics editing solutions? Yes. Acorn gives you more utilities in the menu bar, so you master the basic tools first, there’s plenty more where those came from.

For example, you can take a screen shot of your Mac, then edit right on top with different layers—text, circles, highlights. Even your Mac’s iSight camera comes in to play. Use it to snap a picture, then edit the image in Acorn.

Both image and canvas can be resized to suit your image and work style. The built-in vector shapes are sweet and intuitive. Adding soft corners to elements is easier and more precise than in Fireworks.

Did I mention gradients? What a pain. Fireworks gives a measure of precision to create a vector gradient but it takes forever to set up and get right. Precise? Yes? While I age. Acorn does gradients in a true drag and drop. Uh, make that “drop and drag.” Drop your pointer and drag left or right, up or down. Bang. Gradient.

The tools in Acorn are laid out to be basic and easy to use, then add power as you have the need and time to develop the skill and experience. For example, on the aforementioned gradients, you can, but only as you need, modify the gradient with a color dodge or burn, change lighting, modify color, hue, and saturation.

Acorn is more than simplicity. Some graphics pros will like the built-in tablet capability which adds sensitivity for pressure strokes to the eraser. Each layer’s opacity can be controlled from the palette.

Did I mention palette? That’s singular. One palette, not 36 as in Photoshop. One. It’s context sensitive so whatever tool you’re using at the time brings up the tool’s options and nothing else you don’t need.

If you’re not buried into the intricacies of Photoshop or Fireworks, if you’re intimidated by their price tags, but also intimidated by the complexity of GraphicConverter, then take 20 minutes to use Acorn. Great taste. Less filling. The download is free so you can try Acorn with nothing more than an occasional nag.